Hispanics makeup of Gainesville, Hall schools almost 30 percent

ATLANTA - Hispanics now account for almost 30 percent of the student population in the Gainesville and Hall County school systems.

Enrollment figures on file with the state Department of Education show there are 5,859 Latinos in the county system, and 2,269 in city schools.

That means nearly 50 percent of the students in the city system are Hispanic; about 25 percent of county students are Latino.

The total number of Hispanics in the two school systems is now 8,128 out of a total student population of 27,259. In the city system, the largest percentage is second-graders; in the county, there are more Latinos in the first grade.

Most of the Latino students in the two systems are concentrated in the elementary grades.